Have you been concentrating Dear Reader? If the answer is yes, then you'll know, that amongst other things, I'm a bit of a Thrash Head. I do love my retro thrash, whether it be from one of the original Bay Area or German bands, or from some of the recent New Wave of Thrash outfits. I also like early Death Metal, but I don't know as much about those bands as I do Thrash. When a crossover band comes along mixing those two genres I'm always interested in seeing what they are made up of!

In the case of Dutch band Izegrim, the answer is more Death and Thrash, but with fourth album 'Congress Of The Insane they have released a very consistent, and enjoyable album. They also prove that having a female vocalist doesn't mean she has to have auditioned at least three times for Nightwish and then been sacked five minutes later. Of course, I know that well, because one of my fave female fronted bands are Holy Moses, who have been around a long time. In recent times though, Symphonic and Operatic female fronted bands seem to have become the norm. What really piqued my interest with this album is that Sabina Classen, of Holy Moses, makes a guest appearance. As for Izegrim's own vocalist, Marloes Voskuil, well, she has a voice that spits venom and is extremely impressive, giving Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy a run for her money! She's also very attractive, whether you like it or not, that always sells and plays a mean bass guitar.

So the vocals make this a 'death metal' release but the band know how to inject that venomous approach with a good amount of melody and there are some really solid riffs and solos here courtesy of Jeroen van Heuvelen and Bart van Ginkel. Drummer Ivo completes the lineup and appears to be yet another very competent player who likes to let the sticks fly at hyper speed whilst seemingly in possession of at least two pairs of feet! 'Relic Of The Past', 'Deterioration From Perfection', 'Unchallenged Dominance' and 'Modern Day Freak' are all great and 'Manifest Of A Megalomaniac' (the song on which Voskuil and Classen present dual vocals heavy enough to crack the Earth's Crust) is awesome!

What let's Izegrim down very slightly is that they seem intent on bludgeoning you at every turn. When they do pull back on the throttle a little and let the Thrash side of their sound shine through, well that is when this band works best and I would like to see more of that on future releases. However, this is still an accomplished album and one that will get a fair amount of play in my humble abode! I also really love the artwork. There aren't many things scarier than an evil clown!